Remembrance
by OliveFire Ellipsia
Summary: "An unknown instinct warned him to be suspicious of anybody and everybody, but for some reason he wanted to trust this auburn-haired stranger." (Not what you think it is.) Abstract AU. One-shot. I honestly have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote this...


**A/N: Hmm, it seems I have a proclivity for writing random AU scenes...**

 **This one turned out shorter than the first one. The plot is kind of abstract and (in my opinion) would benefit from an explanation regarding the context. I am reluctant to write it above the story (because spoilers!), so look to the bottom for that.**

 **Hope it's not too confusing...**

* * *

The blue-eyed teenager awoke with tears in his eyes and the ghost of a scream echoing in his throat. The only thing he could remember was his name— and even that was only a whisper in his mind.

 _Kudo Shinichi._

He was jolted from his thoughts (typical amnesiac's inquiries) by the sound of a smooth, cold voice at his side. "How are you feeling?"

He turned his head to locate the speaker and immediately noted the discrepancy between the implied concern in her words and the distinct lack of it in her tone and expression. The still, emotionless features were a mask— he was sure of it, though he didn't quite know how he knew— and familiarity tickled at a corner of his brain. That puzzle was pushed aside as another thought distracted him: _I am observant._

He nearly laughed out loud a moment later, because it was hilarious and almost paradoxical to realize that about himself. A slight, pointed cough interrupted the stream of thought in his head and he flushed slightly as he remembered the unanswered question floating between him and the lab coat-wearing teenager beside him.

"I'm... okay," he responded cautiously. An unknown instinct warned him to be suspicious of anybody and everybody, but for some reason he wanted to trust this auburn-haired stranger.

"What do you remember?" the girl asked flatly.

His mouth opened, a defiant, untruthful reply on the tip of his tongue. To his surprise, however, the words that emerged were honest. "...My name."

"And?" the girl pressed. There was no trace of urgency in her voice— yet something was flickering in her eyes...

" _I'm a detective_ ," he burst out, and the sudden declaration thrust everything into place with a dizzyingly efficient _click_.

She raised an eyebrow at the intensity in his voice and sighed. "Very well, Kudo-kun," she said, and he jumped.

Memories were overwhelming him, so densely that he wasn't able to analyze his body's involuntary reaction to his own name, and he gripped the bedsheets so tightly he could feel his fingernails piercing through the thin cloth.

Then everything shut off all at once, and he was surrounded by blankness once more.

He looked down, noticing for the first time that he was sitting on a narrow cot that closely resembled a hospital bed. A small red-and-white capsule appeared in his palm, courtesy of the auburn-haired teenager, and even as his mind shouted _'Don't!'_ he was already swallowing.

"What—" he began, only to be cut off by a surging wave of pain that quickly enveloped him and embraced him with suffocating strength. He gasped, eyes wide, and breathlessly teetered on the edge for a moment before crashing to the ground.

"The first pill destroys memory, the second eradicates its necessity." Her cold voice seeped into the agonizing haze and he focused with all his might on the sound, grasping it to pull himself out.

"No," he interjected forcefully. He dragged his gaze upwards to look at her. "I remember."

Her eyes widened. _Impossible._

"I remember you, Haibara."

The mask shattered, and he finally saw her emotions on her face. Shock, disbelief, anxiety, regret...

It was the last thing he ever saw.

* * *

Miyano Shiho stepped away from the bed and the lifeless body. Her fingers trembled as she unlocked her desk drawer and pulled out a small syringe filled with clear liquid. _How did he..._

She hesitated, the needle poised above her arm. Quickly shaking her head— she didn't want her last thought to be an unresolved question— she glanced over at him one more time. His expression was innocent and peaceful.

A gentle smile broke out on her face and her fingers relaxed, injecting herself with practiced ease. She imagined his sharp gaze boring into her.

 _"Haibara..."_

She felt no pain this time.

* * *

 **Here's the explanation, for anyone who wants it...**

 **The premise of the story is this: Both the DC universe and the real world exist, but not in the same dimension (for obvious reasons). Two characters, the Boss (who is not mentioned in the story) and Sherry/Miyano Shiho/Haibara Ai, are from the real world. Conan/Shinichi finds out about the real world, and, upon realizing this, is transported out of his world and into ours. Obviously the DC universe can't really function without its main protagonist, and the only way for him to return is if he dies in the real world, so Sherry/Shiho/Ai (in her teenage form) feeds him those two pills. Once Conan/Shinichi gets back to the DC-world, he forgets everything about the real world, and the story continues. Sherry/Shiho/Ai has to inject herself with a certain poison so she can return too. This has happened multiple times, but this is the first time Conan/Shinichi has regained his memory before he died.**

 **...Basically, DC is a drug :P**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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